Famous Last Words: Week 6

Another week, another dollar. And by another dollar I mean another week closer to the end of the semester. This week I got through week 9 with the readings, but not the storybook. I read the eskimo folk tales which, once you get past all of the incredibly long names (see my reading diary for a few of them), is actually a good little collection of stories.

This semester I’m in physical chemistry II lab. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means I spend about 10 hours a week or so doing the monster lab reports for the lab so it’s beginning to take up a lot more of my time. Good thing I got a head start in this class.

This weekend, besides being busy during the day, was very nice. My girlfriend and I watch a scary movie every Friday the 13th, so this Friday we finally watched the Blair Witch Project. It was pretty wild; we had a good time. Then, Saturday was Valentine’s Day. So, in the morning, I went to La Baugette to celebrate a birthday (the Post-Doc in my research lab turned 30), which was a nice way to start the day. Then, my girlfriend and I went to Logan’s Roadhouse for dinner and watched the new Endless Love afterwards (what?? friend’s listen to Endless Love in the dark...).

(Image Information: a personal photo of my girlfriend and I at the Winter Classic in Washington D.C.)

This week in sports had it’s ups and downs. OU basketball got a huge win on monday night against Iowa State, but then came out flat yesterday (and didn’t get much help from the refs I might add) and lost their second game against Kansas State this season. That was a bummer. Also, today the Blackhawks beat the Penguins in a shootout. Tonight is the next new Walking Dead, which both my girlfriend and I are looking forward too.

Essay: Yamato and Tacibana

(Image Information: The great Yamato-Takeru; Web Source: Wikipedia)

After reading the section on Japanese Mythology, I found it very interesting that there was a Japanese hero who is very much like the great Hercules. What I liked so much about this version of Hercules, was the influence his princess had on him.

We first meet Yamato, the Japanese Hercules, and he is the ultimate warrior. He uses his skill in warfare to defeat many vicious bandits, but besides using his brawn, his also uses his brain. Deceiving the bandit leader into thinking he was a girl, being invited in, and then killing the bandit leader. He successfully rescued his princess, Tacibana.

Next, Yamato meets a beautiful siren. This women appeals so greatly to Yamato that he says he will perform any task to prove his love to her. The siren tells Yamato that he must obtain and bring a golden apple. Yamato, enamored with this siren and completely ignoring his princess, sets out to find said apples. On his quest he comes across a demon boar and defeats it. Then, he is deceived by a group of travelers, and death for him and his men seems certain. It is in his moment of greatest doubt, when he is encircled by flames, a figure comes through the flames. It is the princess, Tacibana. She brings Yamato the grass-cleaving sword, and he uses this sword to save his men.

After he and his men are saved, Yamato tells his savior, Tacibana, that the flames have made her hideous and that she must go home and hide herself until she is beautiful again. Tacibana is heartbroken but listens to her hero, whom she loves unconditionally. Then, Yamato returns to the siren, and again, Yamato is deceived. The siren fools him and takes his sacred sword. Yamato is helped by the goddess Kwannon, and he finally regains the sacred sword.

This cycle repeats, until finally, Yamato realizes that he was a fool and Tacibana’s unending love for him has saved him time and time again. One last time, Yamato travels the sea, after having already defeated the sea god and upsetting him. This time, the sea god, in his own territory, creates a brutal storm and says that he will have Yamato now; in one last show of her undying love for her hero, Tacibana sacrifices herself and jumps into the sea, dying.

These stories with Yamato were very interesting because behind the talented, yet arrogant hero, was a loving, virtuous princess who stood by her man through thick and thin. Its a great love story.

Storytelling Week 6: Mittens and The Beast

Often on beautiful days like this, Mittens would go for a walk and soak in the suns rays. It gave the hero time to reflect on the people he’d saved and the savage creatures he’d conquered. While walking through the forest, he heard a whimper-like sound coming from a bush nearby. Confused as to why something could whimper on a day like this, Mittens peered into the bush to see another cat. He was in awe. He did not understand why a cat as beautiful as she was upset, and on such a beautiful day too.

“What is the problem? Why do you whimper on a day so beautiful?”

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I am afraid for my life; I am the only member of my family left.” She went on, “In the last two weeks, I have lost my mother, father, and my three brothers.”

Shocked and confused, Mittens replied, “What evil has caused this? What can I do to help?”

“Again, I’m sorry but there isn’t a thing you can do that will change my fate.” Dejected, she went on to explain that there was a mighty wolf who had caused the fall of the rest of her family. “But there’s something I haven’t mentioned,” the cat continued, “This wolf who has destroyed my kin and ruined my life, is a wolf from the supernatural. Instead of one head with one mouth, this wolf bears eight heads with eight mouths.”

“Well,” Mittens began, “You’ve come to the right place. I will take great pleasure in seeking out this beast and putting a stop to him.”

“I see that you have no lack of confidence, but that may be your greatest folly.”

Mittens told her of his past and the creatures he had defeated before. Then, he claimed that he was so confident that he would be successful in his quest that when he returned, she would marry him. She agreed, and Mittens got right to work. He had once heard a story of a god, Susa-wo-no, who had defeated an eight-headed serpent using his wits and a sacred sword, so he knew that his task was doable.

(Image Information: Mittens searching for the beast;
a personal photo from 2014)

After several days of searching, he heard what sounded like the growling of an entire pack of wolves. He snuck into a nearby bush and peeked through to the other side. There, in a small opening, was the eight-headed wolf preying on three rabbits at once. Mittens decided he would stalk the beast until the sun set, then put his plan into action.

Just after the sun set, Mittens let out a little meow, and the beast turned its sixteen eyes towards him. The eight-headed wolf chased the hero through several bushes until the cat climbed up into the highest tree in the forest. The creature tried to climb, but the cat was up so high that the wolf would try to get up there, only to lose his grip and fall back to the ground. The wolf, knowing Mittens would have to come down at some point, decided to simply wait at the base of the tree. One day passed, then another, and as the sun set on the third day, the beast was growing tired. It had to stay alert while the cat could comfortably nap up in the safety of the trees many branches. So when the beast had dozed off, the cat finished his plan. Using his claws, he had cut a branch almost completely off of the tree. This branch was right above the eight-headed wolf. So that night, with the creature fast asleep, Mittens finished sawing off the branch and it struck the beast on all eight of his heads, knocking it out cold. He then climbed down the tree and plucked out all sixteen of the beast’s eyes, so that it could never again see prey to chase.

Triumphantly, the hero returned to the female and informed her of his success. After relief washed over her, she was enamored with the cunning of her hero. The two spent the rest of their days together, comfortably walking through the forest on beautiful days.

Author’s Note: This story is based on The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi. In this story, Susa-wo-no comes across a maiden with her two parents, and all three of them are visibly upset. Susa-wo-no learns that the family has lost many daughters to an eight-forked serpent, and soon they will lose their last daughter. The maiden is so beautiful that Susa-wo-no says he will slay the monster in he can have her hand in marriage. The father agrees, and Sus-wo-no holds up his end of the deal. In this version I included cats because meow meow.

“The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi” from Romance of Old Japan, Part 1: Mythology and Legend by E.W. Champney and F. Champney (1917)

Reading Diary B: Japanese Mythology

Here are some notes on Japanese Mythology.

(Image Information: A statue of Yamato Takeru; Web Source: Britannica)

The Golden Apple (Yamato)

Yamato has been infatuated with a siren since before he married his princess. After finding the siren again in the grotto, Yamato says he will do anything for her love; the siren tells him to bring her a golden apple. In this story, the siren tells a story of old Jofuku. This man went to the island of eternal life and successfully returned with a golden apple.

The Demon Boar (Yamato)

Not much to say about this story other than Yamato is officially the Japanese Hercules (that rhymes). He just uses his sheer awesomeness to defeat terribly things and preform inconceivable tasks.

The Grass-Cleaving Sword (Yamato)

Here, the great Yamato is actually successfully deceived, but when all seems lost and the fire that encloses him and his comrades inches closer to burning them. Princess Tacibana runs through the fire with a sword that Yamato uses to save them. Tacibana risks her life to save the man she is so devoted to.

The Sacred Sword (Yamato)

Returning to the siren proved a great mistake for Yamato. She deceived him and took his sacred sword. Then lost, the great goddess Kwannon came to his aid. She told him that the sacred sword would be found in the antlers of a stag. With the goddess’s help, Yamato slayed the stag and got the sword back.

The Dragon (Yamato)

Yamato, happy to have the sacred sword in his possession, returned to the siren one last time to charge her with her deception. But the siren was waiting for him, and claimed that he would never leave her until the love of another was greater. Fortunately, that love was Tacibana, and Yamato was saved. When he awoke in his home, Tacibana was nowhere to be found; he waited, but still there was nothing. Finally he found Tacibana trying to protect the city from the evil dragon, Susa-no-wo. It didn’t take long for Yamato to slay the dragon and profess his love for the princess.

One last time, Yamato set out to sea. Tacibana was unsure of how the sea god would react, but Yamato had no fear. He had already defeated Susa-no-wo once, so why not again. Unfortunately, the god was angered by these words and raged a monstrous storm that would kill Yamato unless someone took his place. Of course, ever-faithful Tacibana did, and Yamato was heartbroken.

Reading Diary A: Japanese Mythology

Here are some notes on Japanese Mythology.

The Eight Forked Serpent of Koshi

I felt that this story was a lot like the story of Perseus and Andromeda. Susa-no-wo came across a beautiful maiden in peril, and he offered to save the girl if he could have her hand in marriage. Much like the Greek myth, it was up to the parents of the girl to decide whom she should marry. Obviously, willing to do anything, the father agreed and Susa-no-wo used his wits to kill the serpent and gain a wife.

The Fortunate Fish-Hook

Two brothers, Ho-weri (hunter) and Ho-deri (fisherman) were both very skilled in their arts. But one day, Ho-deri grew impatient and decided that he should swap duties with his younger brother for a while. After a day of less than no success, he met with Ho-weri and asked to return to his role as fisherman. Ho-weri had the same problem and desired to be a hunter again; however, Ho-weri had lost his brother’s fish-hook. Ho-deri was inconsolable. Ho-weri, grieving, went to search for the hook and ended up marrying the daughter of the sea god.

In the second part, the sea god helps to find the lost fish-hook, and after several years, Ho-weri decides he must return the fish-hook to his brother. Ho-deri is incredibly grateful for his brother and thanks him one-thousand times over. Then, the daughter of the sea god meets Ho-weri and births a son. The son spends all of his time with his father, until Ho-weri passes. Then, he spends his days at sea.

The Rescue of the Princess (Yamato)

Yamato, much like a Japanese Hercules in that he is a very strong, very skilled warrior with high intelligence too, saves his princess from a large group of bandits using his skill and deception.

(Image Information: Yamato dressed as a woman; Web Source: Wikipedia)